79: Learning your Dosha

This is the 2nd practice of my Peaceful Power Practice series. If you listened a few weeks ago to Sahara Rose’s interview you most likely have a better understanding of what your dosha might be and how it applies to your life. If you haven’t listened to that interview I highly recommend going back and check out episode #76.

Today I’m going to do an overview of each of the doshas and teach you how they apply to your life both in nutrition, fitness & emotionally. First a review there are 3 dosha types- vata, pitta & kapha. We each have a primary dosha and a secondary dosha. Very few of us are tri-doshic meaning we are all three equally. To find your dosha check out Sahara’s quiz on eatfeelfresh.com it is by far the best dosha quiz I’ve ever seen. It gives you your primary dosha for your mind as well as your primary dosha for your body.

Vata Characteristics

Associated with movement

Positive Qualities Downside qualities

*Positive Emotions *Lack of confidence /grounding

*Brightness *Lack of ease

*Fast Metabolism *Lack of direction

*Driven*Worry, overwhelm, stress & anxiety

Digestion

Vatas tend to eat erratically & skip meals

Vatas tend to bloat

Feel malnourished/always hungry

Vatas tend towards dehydration & constipation

In Fall/early winter choose foods that have warmth & moisturize the body

Sweet tastes to chill out your edge- Honey is too hot. Use maple syrup or dates for sweet taste

Tendencies

Burnout

Sharpness in tongue

Need to make time to relax & reflect

Remedies

Daily nature walks to give you space & perspective

Lunch should be the new dinner

Beans are cooling and good for pittas digestion

In general spicy foods will aggravate pittas

Reflection & gratitude practice at the end of the day to keep your pitta calm

Plants & greens in particular are go to meal options

How to find if pitta is off?

What are you overly focused on in your life? Typically pitta goes into overdrive when you work to hard on a goal, job, kids, life in general. Need to ease up and relax this is where the nature walks or getting outside helps balance the sharpness of the pitta.

Other reasons pitta can be off- Too much spicy food, alcohol, staying up past 10pm to finish work which increases focus, starting the day with coffee = more acid in body which turns into sore throats burning esophagus.

Typically habits are off. Not as lively they get out of their exercise, nutrition routines, need lighter foods, sat to long recently.

Workouts

High intensity, group environment more inviting, compound exercises, morning movement to start the day essential for kaphas

General Practices

Dry brush every day – helps with circulation

Wake up & move- 10 minutes is good, 20 minutes great

1/3 food, 1/3 water, 1/3 space when eating to see room for digestion

Spice is your friend as are honey & lemon

Go to bed early & get up at dawn for movement practice

Move, move, move

In Conclusion

We will associate with something from each of the dosha. Your primary dosha will be the one that you relate to the most. Typically we have one that we will really gravitate towards. Next time you’re feeling angry notice why and what could be the cause of it. If you’re feeling a little all over mentally what might be the cause, or if you feel sluggish notice what dosha might be out of balance. The more we practice these things the more they will become second nature to finding that balance in our lives.